Philadelphia Mom, Shaneen Allen, Will Not See Jail for Carrying Licensed Firearm

Shaneen Allen didn’t know it was illegal to bring the gun that she was legally licensed to carry in Philadelphia into New Jersey. When she got pulled over last October for a minor traffic offense, she told police about the gun and was arrested facing a mandatory three years in prison. Allen will be admitted into a pre-trial intervention program in Atlantic City.

The 27-year-old mother of two was originally denied entrance into the program, which provides defendants, generally first time offenders, with alternative opportunities to ordinary prosecution.

On Sept. 24, the Office of the Attorney General released a clarification of the "Graves Act" — a 2008 directive that deals with out-of-state individuals who hold valid permits to carry a firearm into New Jersey, according to a statement from Atlantic County Prosecutor Jim McClain.

"In applying the factors set out in the clarification, I determined that the defendant in this case should be offered the opportunity to be admitted into the Atlantic County PTI Program and I have communicated that determination to the Court and to defense council," McClain said.